Faith in the Right
by blackdog530
Summary: They were the hope of the Guardian Spirits. These two carried with them the hopes and dreams of the entire world. Oh, how quickly dreams metamorphasize into nightmares...


Author's notes: Welcome to my fic! It details the journey of Mithos, Martel, Kratos, and Yuan, and chronicles the last days of the Kharlan War, the rise of Cruxis, Kratos' descent to Earth, and his flight with Anna and the infant Lloyd through Sylvarant. It is going to be slightly AU, so don't review saying, "This thing was not accurate". I know it's not. It's not supposed to be.

This is my second re-post of this chapter. I had some great plot bunnies while playing Tales of Phantasia, and incorporated parts of that game into this. It's now something I feel pretty proud of. The story is gonna rock!

This chapter is a prologue, telling the backstory of the War of the Spirits, the rise of humans and elves, and the start of the Kharlan War. The story will start in earnest with the next chapter.

Disclaimer: I don't own Tales of Symphonia, nor any of the characters within. They belong to Namco. Any original characters are mine. If you wish to use them, please e-mail me requesting their use. I'll probably be fine with it.

Faith in the Right

Prologue:

_There once was a time when the world was peaceful. Symphonia existed in simple, quiet harmony. The Great Kharlan Tree stood tall and proud, providing mana to the entire world, nurturing the many evolving forms of life._

_Acting as the catalysts of this were the Eleven Guardian Spirits, guiders of all aspects of existence: Efreet, Spirit of Fire; Celsius, Spirit of Ice; Volt, Spirit of Electricity; Undine, Spirit of Water; Sylph, triune Spirit of Wind; Gnome, the Spirit of the Earth; Shadow, Spirit of Darkness; Aska and Luna, diune Spirit of Light; Chaos, Spirit of Death; Maxwell, Lord of the Elements; and Origin, Spirit of Life and the King of Spirits. Within these Spirits was the power to guide every aspect of the world. There were numerous other, lesser Spirits as well, all serving and guiding the planet in a era of prosperity._

_Sadly, the peace this young world knew would soon be broken._

_A being of great power, known as Dorran, arrived on Symphonia. He had come to destroy the young world, and the mana it was producing. The mana was destroying his homeworld. Origin immediatley set to work attempting to battle this intruder._

_Sadly, not all the Spirits desired to defend Symphonia._

_Chaos, the Guardian Spirit of Death, jealous of the authority and power granted to Origin, chose to side with Dorran, and further his quest. Many of the lesser Spirits, whom Chaos had promised power and glory to if they pledged loyalty to him, also joined on Dorran's side._

_War raged between the two factions, with fierce battles breaking out between Origin (with Maxwell by his side) and the team of Dorran and Chaos._

_After a particularly nasty battle with Origin, Dorran was close to death. In order to save the extraterrestrial warrior, and to greatly increase his collective power, Chaos fused himself with the invader. Their consciousnesses became one, and neither Chaos nor Dorran existed any longer. In their place was the fierce demon-king Dhaos, Scourge of Symphonia._

_With this newfound power, he transformed his followers into fierce demons and devils, and other wicked beings of darkness. The greatest of these were the Dark Lord Nebilim and his eight followers, each wielding a weapon of incredible evil power known as the Dark Arms, and the Sword Dancer._

_With their newfound power, the army of the Scourge nearly defeated Origin, the nine Guardian Spirits left on his side, and those lesser Spirits still siding with them. However, Origin triumphed over the Scourge in a titanic final duel, banishing Dhaos and most of the other dark beings into a place created for them, the dark pit of __Niflheim. Others fell into the fiery maelstrom of Hell, and were utterly consumed. Still others remained in Symphonia, becoming inert, lifeless beings, which would later come to be known as Exspheres, Cruxis Crystals, and Angelus Crystals. The path to Niflheim was sealed, and it appeared that Dhaos would never again threaten Symphonia._

_With the threat of Dhaos defeated, life continued to grow and flourish under the care of Origin, eventually giving rise to two forms of sentient life: elves, and humans. Sadly, this moment, which should have proven to be the crowning achievement of the Spirits, would prove to be the doom of Symphonia._

_From the very beginning, the elves and humans distrusted one another. The humans believed the elves, hiding in their home of Derris-Kharlan, were aloof and elitist, and feared what the elves might do to them with their "witchcraft". The elves, on the other hand, believed the humans, in their expanse known as Tethe'alla, to be aggressive, dumb savages, unworthy to be called sentient. The elves believed the far more numerous humans planned to attack and conquer Derris-Kharlan. The races were constantly on edge, prepared to fight on the slightest provocation._

_However, some did not see things this way._

_There were those who overcame the biases and fears of their up-bringing, and fell in love. These people were cast out of their societies and declared traitors, while their children, carrying the noble blood of both races, were scorned and spit upon. Called by the uncaring as half-bloods, these half-elf, half-humans were forced to take refuge in the wilderness of Symphonia, barely surviving in small contingents in small villages._

_Eventually, the human kingdom of Tethe'alla became too large for the Royal City of Meltokio to maintain by its own. A great portion of the nation decided to become independent, and became known as the kingdom of Sylvarant. Naming the city of Balacruf as its capital, the nation quickly moved to protect their independence. However, Tethe'alla would not just take this lying down. Using a new technological achievement known as magitechnology, Tethe'alla attacked and attempted to reconquer the rebellious nation. Through the Balacruf branch of the Imperial Research Academy, however, Sylvarant developed its own version of magitechnology, and put it to use. The Great War began, as human fought against human. Each side, knowing the advantages held by the half-bloods, recruited half-elves, promising them freedom and equal treatment if they would fight. They readily agreed._

_Both sides also tried to gain the support of the elves. But the elves chose to remain neutral in the battle, preferring to watch the action from Derris-Kharlan, rather than sully their hands with the blood of the barbaric humans._

_However, battle raged all around them, and they did not refuse to lend aid to the wounded, and provide rest for the weary from either side. The small land of Kharlan became a neutral site, where both Sylvaranti and Tethe'allan soldier rested and were safe from the war._

_Eventually, the ancient mountains were mined to incredible depths, in an attempt to find more of the ores necessary to create magitechnology. It was there, in the heart of the Moria Mountains that split Sylvarant and Tethe'alla, that the dormant parasitic lifeforms that were once minions of Dhaos were discovered. It was found out that these small spheres had the capability to enhance a human's physical limits. It also increased half-elves' abilities to control mana in the way known as magic. Calling these items Exspheres, they were quickly adopted as powerful weapons, and were invaluable to the war effort._

_It was soon thereafter, however, that the dangerous side effects of the Exspheres were discovered, as soldier after soldier was turned into a mindless monster. The dwarves, master craftsmen, working alongside the brilliant science of the elves, managed to discover a way of holding off the transformation. Calling the charms they invented "Key Crests", both the elves and the dwarves hoped the Exspheres would bring about a quick end to the war. Both were grievously mistaken._

_For over a thousand years, the terrible war went on. Both sides suffered horribly, and the land was ravaged. As the war continued, the Great Kharlan Tree began to wither and die, as its mana supply was exhausted by machines of war, and hatred tore the world asunder._

_Then, a momentous event occurred. However, no one could know how truly momentous it would turn out to be._

_In the village of Vinheim, in Derris-Kharlan, two half-elven children were born. While not necessarily uncommon, few enough were born for such an event to go unnoticed. However, no one could have possibly predicted the incredible destiny that lay before these two children. They were the hope of the Guardian Spirits. These two carried with them the hopes and dreams of the entire world._

_Oh, how quickly dreams metamorphasize into nightmares..._


End file.
